On the detection of delay faults

The class of faults known as gate delay faults are investigated. A taxonomy of the classes of gate delay fault detecting tests is provided. Methods to derive robust and nonrobust tests to detect gate delay faults are proposed. A physically meaningful measure to assess the efficacy of test sequences is introduced, and used to report fault coverages. A nine-valued logic system was proposed and used for deriving these tests. A physically meaningful measure, in the form of the average detection size of a test sequence. An algorithm was devised and implemented to automate the process of test generation, and results of experimentation with the ATPG, as well as with a random-pattern simulator, on four ISCAS-85 circuits were reported